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The Taylor Hooton Foundation

Life doles out many hardships, from failed relationships to financial woes to missed opportunities of every kind. But the death of one's child isn't supposed to be part of the bargain. Nonetheless, on July 15, 2003, having become depressed while withdrawing from anabolic steroids, Taylor Hooton - Honor student, junior-varisty letterman, and beloved member of his family and community - committed suicide.

It was an unspeakably hard time for those who survived him.

In the wake of Taylor's death, however, his parents did something courageous - instead of receding from the world to cope with their loss, they started a foundation in their son's honor, and to date, the Taylor Hooton Foundation has educated close to a hundred thousand students, athletes, parents, coaches, Congressmen, and health care providers on the dangers of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.

Taylor's story is a heartbreaking one, but with steroid scandals hitting the news on a weekly basis and upwards of half a million high schoolers still experimenting with the toxic drug, Taylor's story is more vital than ever.